Let's Pretend
by UnknownAuthorPerson
Summary: Lovino has a thorn in his side named Gilbert who won't leave him alone. When he lies about having a boyfriend to get rid of him, he ask Alfred to help him. Though the more they pretend, the more it seems to be real. Involves Romerica, onsided Prumano, and romance galore! Enjoy.


_Hey guys! Wow, I haven't updated in awhile. Sorry about that, college and life kinda need to come first before fan-fiction. So I hope you enjoy this story, which I'm really proud of how it came out._

_So here you go!_

_Hetalia was created by Himaruya Hidekaz and I own nothing!_

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It wasn't suppose to happen like this. Any way but this. Yet here I am, waking up next to Alfred, my pretend boyfriend. The man I'm supposed to be sleeping with. This wasn't supposed to happen and yet it did. Why does nothing in my life work out the way I want it too?

I should explain. My name is Lovino. I'm 26 years old and I run a small coffee shop with my younger brother, Feliciano. Life is simple. We run the shop together — well I do most of the work, he just helps. We also live in the two bedroom apartment upstairs of the shop, just big enough for my brother and I. While the apartment is small, it works for us. Although there are times when I will come home, and there he is with his two friends just lounging on the couch and leaving a mess. Or when he brings over unexpected guests without telling me, making me fix dinner for all of them…but this isn't about my brother, this is about the man who is currently sleeping next to me.

Alfred. He was a neighborhood kid I knew growing up. He's four years younger than me, so I never saw him around unless Feliciano brought him home. He always seemed to want to hang around me when we were younger, always wanting to know what I was doing and what I was drawing or cooking. At the time I found it annoying, but at the same time, it was nice to know someone found me interesting. I even showed him how to draw at one point when he hung around me, when I thought it would keep him from being bored. Then one day he moved away and we never really saw him after that.

Years later Feliciano and I opened up our coffee shop in the big city. We were fairly successful, quickly becoming a hot spot for young college students. That's when we saw Alfred again. He was so happy to see us that he jumped over the counter and hugged us both. The guy grew up, I'll tell you that. He grew up into a nice looking, well-built young man. That's not to say I was attracted to him, I was just admiring that he grew up into such a handsome guy!

'He must be popular with the girls' was my first thought about him. We saw him everyday after that. He would usually come alone or with one of his college buddies, who in turn would eventually become one of the regulars. (Which we always appreciated, the more customers the better.)

There were times were he would stick around and help us out. He would help us clean up when the shop closed for the evening and he was still there. He even fixed the equipment when it broke or something went wrong. Feliciano often joked about hiring him, but Alfred declined, saying he didn't need a job at the moment.

It was nice that he helped out though. There were times where he would stay around and we would all sit around in the apartment, talking and drinking coffee. For a while, it was perfect.

Until he brought his friend Gilbert here. Gilbert, I didn't — don't — really like. He's older than Alfred but ten times more immature. The minute he walked into the shop I knew I didn't like him. He was loud and obnoxious, and what followed made me like him less. He walked up to the counter and gave me a shit-eating grin.

"Hey there! What up cutie?" He asked me in a flirtatious tone.

"What do you want?" I said, trying to be polite even though I wanted more than anything than to punch this asshole in the face.

"Well, I definitely want you! You're on the menu right?" He said. I had never felt so insulted and uncomfortable in my life. Now I just wanted him out of the shop.

"Gil, stop." Alfred said, pulling him back from the counter. "Leave him alone."

"Ah come on Al, you can't look at him and tell me you don't want to tap that?" he asked, giving me a wink.

Just when I was about to lose it, Alfred took him aside and almost yelled at him to leave me alone. Gilbert didn't say anything after that. However the next day he came back, without Alfred, this time free to flirt with me as much as possible.

"I said if you're not going to order anything, then get the hell out of my cafe!" I yelled. He didn't budge, that damn bastard.

"Come on, just one date, that's all I ask," he said again. Then it slipped. I said something that I would come to regret, but I needed that asshole out of my face.

"I can't, I have a boyfriend," I said. Everyone gasped, and my brother even stopped what he was doing.

"What?! You have a boyfriend? Since when?" One of our regulars said.

"Yeah! I didn't know that. Who is he?" Asked a woman behind him.

"Lovino! You have a boyfriend! Who is he?" my brother asked.

Then I was stuck. Who was my boyfriend? I couldn't just say 'Sorry guys! I'm lying so this bastard will leave me the fuck alone.'

Just then my answer walked in. Alfred came in looking for someone (most likely Gilbert) and I called for him."Alfred!"

He looked over to me when I called and smiled.

"You're dating Alfred?!" Gilbert exclaimed. I looked to Alfred, whose face fell from happy to confused. He was about to correct Gilbert before I interrupted him.

"Yes! We've been seeing each other since…last week!" I said in a hurry. Alfred looked stunned, just as much as everyone else. Except for Feliciano, who gave me a hug.

"I'm so happy for you two! I knew you two liked each other! It was only a matter of time!" My brother just kept hugging me as I gave Alfred an apologetic look. He was still confused about what was going on.

"Y-Yes! It's all true." I lied.

Gilbert looked to Alfred, then me, then Alfred again. "Are you serious? That guy? I mean, no offense to Al, but I'm so much awesome than him." Gilbert said.

"Well, you can't help who you fall for." I lied again.

Gilbert glared at Alfred and all Alfred did was just awkwardly looked at me, trying to figure out what was going on. I did feel bad for putting him through this, though I was just as embarrassed for getting myself into this.

Gilbert just stood there for a moment and sighed. "Man you really got me. Alright, whatever. But just remember, Lovino. I don't give up, I'll just wait till you come to your senses. You can't be with Al forever!" He quickly turned to Alfred to tell him 'no offense' before storming out.

The whole shop just went silent, with the exception of the music that played over our heads. The atmosphere was suddenly interrupted by Feliciano's cheeriness.

"So you and Alfred, that's just great! You two are going to be a great couple!" He hugged me tighter as the customers all congratulated Alfred and me on our 'relationship.'

Alfred forced a smile while I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Alfred adjusted his glasses and scratched the back of his head before coming up to me and whispering into my ear.

"Can I talk to you for a second. Honey." I nodded my head and left Feliciano to take care of the customers. He lead me into the men's room so we could talk.

"What was that?" He asked me.

"I don't know, I panicked! I just wanted that albino bastard off my ass."

"And you told him I was your boyfriend?" I couldn't help but notice that Alfred wasn't mad or angry, he just seemed more confused than anything else.

"You were the first person I saw. I couldn't think of anyone else." I admitted. We were both silent after that. What a mess I had gotten myself into. I didn't even know how to get myself out of it! Then Alfred said the something that would change everything.

"What if I pretended to be your boyfriend?" Alfred said.

"What?"

"So what if I just pretended to be your boyfriend? You know, temporarily? Until Gil gets off your ass. I promise it won't be forever and we don't even have to go on dates. We'll just hold hands in public and act all couply and shit. You know?" Alfred offered, his eyes lighting up as he smiled.

To be honest, at the time it didn't seem like a bad idea. However, considering how I'm waking up next to Alfred, three months later, makes it seem like the dumbest fucking idea ever.

At the time, it didn't. It made sense to keep up the facade I'd made up for Alfred and I. If we just made it look plausible then Gilbert would leave me alone and I'd be rid of that bastard. At the time it was a brilliant plan, so I agreed to Alfred being my "boyfriend."

We agreed on some ground rules for every time we were in public together. Whenever we met up after class or after work, we would hug (not kiss), and hold hands to look convincing. Alfred tried to do some more couply shit, like snuggling or pet names; I shut that down, though. I didn't want us to come off as obviously fake. Besides, it was way too embarrassing.

For the first month everything was going fine. Alfred started hanging out at the cafe more and more. He would even started to stay around after hours. To the point where he started bringing his homework over, which I took it upon myself to help him with. It was mostly his essay assignments that he had problems with. I mostly did the spell check and grammer check, I even had him re-write it if it was crap.

Most of the time I walked him to his dorm around that time, but there was one night where he passed out while studying. I could of woke him up and sent him home, but seeing Alfred asleep like that, I couldn't bring myself to do so. Something about his sleepy face and his little smile. I couldn't bring myself to wake him.

So I instead got a pillow and blanket, lifted his head to place the pillow underneath and the blanket over his sholders to keep him warm. I went to bed myself. The next morning I woke up and walked out to the living room to find Alfred still at my house, but this time he was awake with Feliciano, simply eating breakfast. They both said good morning to me but I noticed the time and asked Alfred what time his first class was. Checking the time himself, he said his first class wasn't going to be till 9:00. Seeing that it was 8:30 and his school was an 30 minute walk I decided to shoo him out.

Before he left, he tried to kiss me goodbye, to look convincing in front of my brother. I told him no, not wanting to kiss at all, at least not at the time. He seemed disappointed but smiled and hugged me goodbye instead before running off. Then a thought occured to me: 'Maybe I should of kissed him.' I quickly dismissed it as soon as I thought of it. Why would I want to kiss him? Man, I'm an idiot.

All the while, Gilbert started coming to the cafe less and less, while Alfred and I continued to 'date.' Which was fine, but Feliciano noticed we weren't hanging out "enough" So one day, Feliciano told me he wanted to close the cafe early so I could go and meet Alfred after his class. Even though I told him it wasn't important, I ended up doing it any way. I thought that hanging out with Alfred wouldn't be so bad, as friends! I mean, just because we were pretending to date didn't mean we couldn't still hang out as friends!

So I met Alfred after his last class and went for a walk. We ended up at a nearby park, just walking and talking, catching up on things. It was very platonic! Don't get any ideas.

We talked about plenty of things, the games he played (he offered to let me play some of them, but I declined), the movies he watched, and even the places he saw while on vacation last year. I told him about my own time in college, what I've been up to and how my paintings were coming along. For a while, it was nice.

Then Alfred saw Gilbert walking towards us. Neither of us knew what to do. So he took my hand in his and we continued to walk just as Gilbert came up to us.

"What up you guys?" Gilbert greeted us. He gave me a wink despite the fact I was holding hands with my 'boyfriend.'

"Nothing much, just here with my boyfriend." Alfred held my hand tighter but kept a smile on his face.

"Oh you two still dating? Man, you were serious, weren't you?" He grinned that shit-eating grin of his.

Alfred still held my hand and it seemed like he wouldn't let go. Believe me when I say it got awkward fast. So I said something to ease the tension.

"S-So how are you today?" Why did I say that? I couldn't give two shits what this bastard did.

"Ah, taking an interest in me?" He said in a flirtatious tone.

"No, you bastard I'm just trying to be polite!" I yelled. I didn't want to give this bastard the wrong idea. That was the last thing I needed.

"Whatever you say cutie, I know you want me. So Al, I need the homework for tonight. You mind giving it to me?" Gilbert said, trying to distract Alfred from the fact he had just flirted with me in front of him.

Alfred smiled and gave him their homework for that night. Then something happened that caught me by surprise. Alfred said goodbye to Gilbert and then gave me a little kiss on the cheek before we left.

I had to ask why he did that. "What was that for? You didn't have to kiss me."

"I had to make it believable. I mean if Gilbert can just flirt with you when I'm right in front of you, then we're not very convincing," Alfred said.

"Yeah but…it's not okay." How could I be okay with it? I mean Alfred couldn't just kiss me whenever he wanted. I should be able to do that, I mean it's me that Gilbert wants.

"Alright Al, here's the deal. The next time Gilbert does something like that, I get to kiss you. Got it?" I wanted to control the kissing, is that so wrong?

Alfred stopped for a moment and there was a slight blush on his face. He smiled and nodded his head. So it was agreed that the next time Gilbert was around, I would kiss Alfred. What's so bad about that?

If I only I had known how soon that would come up. A few days later Alfred and I went out to dinner with Feliciano and his friend Kiku, who both seemed to want to know more about our 'relationship.'

"So how long have you two known each other?" Kiku asked.

"Well, I used to know Lovi and Feli when we lived in the same neighborhood. I would go to their house when my own folks weren't home. To be honest though, I always had a bit of a crush on Lovi." He was holding my hand as he said this. I thought he was making it up so it would sound more believable. Though, from the way he was telling them and how his thumb would rub the back of my hand so lightly — I was such an idiot.

He continued. "I mean, I used to think he was wonderful. Still do, he's an amazing artist, a wonderful cook, really smart, a really beautiful man, just all around amazing. So when I heard that my family was moving away, I kinda wanted to tell him. But I just assumed that I just had a cute little crush on him and it would go away. We said our goodbyes and I left."

"Years later I hear about this new coffee shop near my college so I decide to check it out. And wouldn't you know it, there he was. All these years and he was still as amazing as I remember him." Alfred stopped for a moment, smiling to himself as he held my hand.

I could feel my face get warmer the more Alfred talked about why he liked me. Like the idiot I was, I though he was just pulling a convincing lie about how we knew each other and how we got together. How did I not know?

"Lovi and I started talking and hanging out and well…one thing lead to another and now…" He tried to lean in for a kiss but I kicked his foot to remind him our deal.

"Lovi, you're blushing, that's so cute!" My brother gushed, while his friend Kiku blushed too, but showed a little smile.

"I have to agree, you two are quite adorable." Kiku added to my brother's gushing. I haven't felt so embarrassed in my life, and this was not helped by Alfred's sudden affection; the signs were there, why didn't I see it?

Anyway, just then Gilbert came walking in. He noticed us right away and came right over to us.

"Hey there Lovi! How are you, sweet thing?" He said, this time not even trying to hide that he didn't care I was 'in a relationship.' I didn't say anything, but the way he was eyeing me sent chills down my spine, and not in a good way.

He looked like he was about ready to pull me away from Alfred. So without thinking, I pulled Alfred down for a kiss.

It was a nice kiss. No tongue, but it was passionate enough to send Gilbert the message. Alfred kissed me back the same way I was kissing him. Is it wrong to say that I was enjoyed it? Because it surprised even me how much I liked kissing him.

When we stopped, I turned to see everyone's shocked faces. The one I got the biggest kick out of was Gilbert's, who turned tail and ran. I couldn't help but smirk at that bastard running. I just hope that meant he would give up and Alfred and I could give up the facade. For a split second it occurd to me that our facade would end and it was just starting to get fun. I shook it off just as fast, thinking it wasn't that big of a deal.

That night Alfred walked me home, where we talked about the idea of ending it.

"We can't stop. Lovi, you don't understand! Gilbert doesn't give up so easily. Just because we made out once, doesn't mean he will stop pressuring you." Alfred tried to make his case.

"He's your damn friend! Why can't you just tell him to get off my back?" I asked.

"I've tried. He's just…really into you." Alfred's voice seemed to trail off when he talked about how much GIlbert liked me.

"Ah, damnit." Was the only thing I said. Actually there were a lot of things I could of said. Like 'I'll get a restraining order' or 'I'll just beat him up myself, that'll get the message across.' However, when I looked at Alfred and saw how sad he seemed about ending the 'relationship' so early, it just didn't seem right.

"Alright, how about we do this for another couple of weeks. If Gilbert stops after that, then we can stop 'dating.' " I told him.

And then we just kept going with it. For the next couple of weeks we continued to pretend to date. I even let Alfred kiss me more, to make it more damn believable, not because I liked it. I didn't like it. It was nice and sweet, but I damn it I didn't like it!

Okay I liked it a little, but I still got to kiss him when I damn well wanted to.

What was I talking about? Oh right, the second month of our 'relationship.' Now Alfred started hanging out even more, to the point where he was there everyday. With or without homework to do. Which was great. Finally I had someone to hang out with when Feliciano had his friends over. We would all chat and drink and just have fun. With Alfred there it made it less awkward for me. I had someone to talk to when Feliciano and his friends started chatting amongst themselves.

By the end of the second month, I noticed that Gilbert stopped coming by less and less, to the point where I barely saw him. Which seemed like a good sign. In a weird way though, the less I saw Gilbert, the more it reminded me that I would have to 'break up' with Alfred. It actually made me wish that Gilbert was still into me so that way I wouldn't have to.

Then again, it didn't mean I would just stop being friends with him, we just weren't 'dating' anymore. The thing was, I had really grown to like Alfred. Not like a boyfriend! But like a real friend. I liked having him around. All this would mean is that I just wouldn't kiss him anymore. That seemed like crap though. I mean, friends can kiss? Right? Friends can still kiss like that? There's nothing wrong with that!

Anyway, at the start of the third month of my 'relationship,' Gilbert had stopped coming to the cafe completely. I went to meet up with Alfred at his school and that's where I saw Gilbert flirting with a cute blonde girl with pigtails. She seemed to reciprocate his flirting. (I didn't have any right to question her taste in men, but…) However, seeing Gilbert with that girl made me realise that Alfred and I didn't need to pretend anymore.

It made my stomach sink at the idea. We didn't need to pretend anymore. And the very thought was…well let's just say I didn't want to see Alfred after that. I went straight back to my apartment to lay down. I didn't even say 'hi' to my brother as he was closing up. I closed the door behind me and went to bed. I just didn't want to see anyone after that. If Gilbert moved on, that means that Alfred and I…it didn't matter and soon I drifted off to sleep.

There was a knock at the door that woke me up. I got up to open the door and there was Alfred, trying to smile but just standing there awkwardly.

"Hey Lovi." Alfred greeted me.

I let him in without saying anything to him. He didn't say anything at first so we stood there in an awkward silence. We both knew what it was about.

"So…I just wanted to say that….Gil's given up on you." Alfred awkwardly stated, trying to start the conversation.

"Yeah, I saw him. That's great…" I bit my lower lip, worried about what Alfred was going to say next.

"So. I guess we don't have to pretend anymore." He chuckled a bit, but he looked to the ground, not wanting to look me in the eye. "Listen, Lovi, there's something I have to tell you."

I wasn't really prepared for it, but I should of seen it coming.

"Lovino. Remember when I was talking about how I had a crush on you when I was younger. Well…it's all true. I really did have a crush on you. I always have, I meant everything when I said what I liked about you. When I saw you again, I couldn't have been happier."

"The more I got to know you though, the more I started to fall for you. Then Gilbert started being an ass. I didn't know what to do about him. Then you started saying I was your boyfriend. I was confused at first, but then I thought you were on to something. If I pretended to be your boyfriend, then Gil would leave you alone. It would also be a great way to get to know you better. So I just let it happen."

"Then we started kissing and cuddling and. I really liked it. It just made me dread the moment Gil would stop chasing you and we would stop pretending to be boyfriends. That got me thinking though. What if we stopped pretending? What if we did become actual boyfriends. I mean, just drop the act and actually do it!" Alfred finally looked me in the eyes, pleading to me to make this real.

"Why can't we actually be boyfriends?" He asked me. I hadn't thought of it. I hadn't wanted to think about it. It was something that I was still debating. Yet, even though I didn't have an answer him, I decided to kiss him.

Why did I do that? Maybe it was because I didn't want it to end. Alright! I admit it, I never wanted it to end. I mean hell, I was kissing him for god's sake, what did that say? I mean we kissed, and it got…it got…you know what, you don't need to know what we did after that. All you do need to know is now I'm next to him in bed. Naked. So make your own damn conclusions!

So here I am, next to the man I didn't know I would end up sleeping with. I'd say for sure I didn't see it coming. Then again maybe I should of. Was dating such a bad thing? No. I like Alfred, a lot. I want him around, to hold and kiss and do all that sappy couple shit with him. It's stupid how much I'd been denying it, but —

I think I'm in love with him.

Alfred is waking up now and he looks over to me and smiles. I find myself smiling back, and I give him a good morning kiss before I lay my head on his chest.

"So I guess we're actually boyfriends now," Alfred chuckled, stroking my hair.

"Yeah. I guess we are." I admitted. Underneath my head, I simply listened to his heart.

"Good. Hey, Lovino."

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say, and I guess this time is as good as any." He paused for a moment, took a deep breath and said, "I love you."

And I, meaning every word, responded with, "I love you too."

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_Oh my this took a while. Had a friend on Tumblr (Dualce) help me with this story, which I thank her for. Nothing much else to say about it other than I hope you guys like it._

_Read and Review...Or not your choice._


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